Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

[Wormhelmet]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

My current Epiphone Prophecy Les Paul Custom Plus is every bit as good as my Gibson Les Paul Deluxe I used to own. The key was taking it to my luthier and having a choice setup done on it. Hardware is already good. Had EMG 81/85 set I wanted, Grover tuners, nice black hardware, nice finish with no flaws, blue quilt top. Even blue swirled Mother of Pearl caps on the tops of the 4 knobs. It has a thin taper neck built for speed and comfort for my little snausage fingers. Its my most played guitar right now.

When I got it, it wouldn't even make sounds on first 4 frets for top three strings. Bought it from ebay. Luthier fixed it all and it plays superb. My advice - find a good luthier.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

Luthier fixed it all and it plays superb. My advice - find a good luthier.

Most American guitars need set ups too; it's not just imports.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

Have you checked out Agile? I have played many epis but when I bought my Agile a couple months ago, it blew the epis out of the water IMO. Not to mention, I bought one used for less than $200 mahogany body, maple cap, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard even came with Grover tuners installed and a wilkinson roller bridge. I think they're worth looking into.

I've had two Agile LP's, sold one. They're good but I prefer Epi's. I think Agiles and Epi's are close in overall quality of materials and workmanship, and that Epi's have an edge with better PU's (Probuckers), push-pulls, and more reliable 3-way toggles. The Agile I kept had cheap generic tuners and I had to replace them with Grovers. If I had to take a new, unmodded LP to a gig, it would definitely be an Epi Std, not any of the Agiles.

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

My opinion is short and sweet.

I've owned a few

All but one were actually great

One is still one of the best players ive ever played.

All epis I've ever owned needed a pickup change to be great.

I feel they are usually good guitars for the money.

 

[probo_squad_henry]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

i've played a model very similar to that. not anything special, but it was good. i liked it

 

[TheRealSouthner]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I recently tried a epiphone les paul and the gibson version at guitarcenter. Exactly the same except for the finish. The finish was way thicker on the epiphone.

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

From a different perspective...

My main guitars are G&L strat-bodies. When I want 2HB tone, I will grab one of my Gibson Les Pauls or ES-335s, or one of my Ibanez.

And even though I love my Gibsons (and I've owned a Gibson of one kind or another for most of my professional life), I really don't care for Epiphone. There are a couple I've contemplated like their Vee, Explorer, and G-400 models, but I've never come close to bonding with any of their LPs or semi-hollows.

I'd take my MIK Ibanez GR-520s or my Artstar AS-120 over a comparable Epi every time. I prefer the Ibanez Artist models over Epi LPs, and I'd give the Ibanez jazz boxes an edge, too.

I am blessed and very fortunate to have so many nice guitars, and I know I'm a total guitar snob these days. I know I'm spoiled by my Gibsons, but if I were looking for a budget instrument, my first look would be for a Ibanez. But that's what I'm used to. As they say, YMMV.

And honestly, the Epi you're looking at could be really sweet. I love P-90s and miss having a guitar with them.

Good luck!

Bill

 

[voggin]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I've been really impressed with the last few Epis I've taken off the wall at my favourite store. One was a race-car red that had to be the coolest colour I've ever seen on a Les Paul (I bet you could sell a boatload of Gibson ones painted that way for 4K). The other was the one with all the push-pull switches (a Pro?) that had a really cool satin finish on the neck.

That satin finish really impressed me, because if there is a criticism of some budget guitars, it's the thickness of the poly finish, which often looks really nice but can have a plasticky feel. I thought the satin was a great balance, considering the part of the guitar you touch the most is the neck.

The set up and everything seemed quite good. I didn't play it through an amp, not that that really matters on a forum like this, where I assume pickup swaps are going to happen anyway even in an R9. But they sounded really good acoustically.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I had an Epi '58 Korina Explorer. Thought it was a fantastic guitar for the money. Slapped a set of Lace Deathbuckers and some GraphTech string saddles into it and it became an absolute beast! The body is a gorgeous piece of wood and the sound qualities it has are just magnificent. It had one of my favorite necks to play, some meat to it, but still fast and smooth with great jumbo frets. Sold it to a friend during a rough time. Another friend has an Epi Les Paul standard that is also fantastic. '59 in the bridge. Love the sound of that axe.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I had an Epi '58 Korina Explorer. Thought it was a fantastic guitar for the money. Slapped a set of Lace Deathbuckers and some GraphTech string saddles into it and it became an absolute beast! The body is a gorgeous piece of wood and the sound qualities it has are just magnificent. It had one of my favorite necks to play, some meat to it, but still fast and smooth with great jumbo frets.

I don't know why Epi '58 and '67 V's aren't in standard production anymore. Such a classic design. The market may not be as big as LP's and SG's, but they appeal to blues/classic rock guys (like me) and to hard rock/metal players.

 

[GourmetSaint]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I have had an Epiphany Black Beauty for 10 years. I have just refurbished with new everything including a Freeway switch and push pulls for parallel/series switching. Now amazing.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I love Epiphone Guitars! You get what you pay for, so don't expect a $100-$200 Epi AJ to sound and play just like the Gibson AJ BUT it will play and sound better than most cheaper guitars (from my experience.) I like how Epiphone offers economy guitars that range from cheap (price and quality) to reasonable (price and quality)...at least from my Experience. Are they perfect? No. But we are not talking about a Custom ordered guitar.

To the OP, I would say play one first from the standpoint that this is not a high end hand made guitar and I think you will be pleased.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

Most American guitars need set ups too; it's not just imports.

I get all of my guitars setup the way I like it regardless of price or country of origin...and they will need setups periodically (at least here in the South with humidity and random temperature spikes lol)

 

[thebowl]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

The Epi Elitist has Gibson P-90s, which are about as good as any made, appropriately matched high-end components, excellent fit and finish, and it plays and sounds wonderful. You should be able to find one used for around a grand. IF you are looking for a hollow body P-90 guitar, it deserves a long look.

 

[Liam1963]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I have a Casino and a 335 copy, and I like them both, never had an issue with either of them....

 

[DreX]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I recently tried a epiphone les paul and the gibson version at guitarcenter. Exactly the same except for the finish. The finish was way thicker on the epiphone.

Nitro versus poly, I believe. Or maybe that's just very thin poly on the Gibsons, I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's easier to finish a thick coat of anything, because you could sand and buff it aggressively and not worry about going through to the wood. I'm curious what the true reason for the thickness is, though. One great thing about the thicker finish is that a ding is less likely to make it down to the wood, and so is easier to drop fill repair.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

Nitro versus poly, I believe. Or maybe that's just very thin poly on the Gibsons, I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's easier to finish a thick coat of anything, because you could sand and buff it aggressively and not worry about going through to the wood. I'm curious what the true reason for the thickness is, though. One great thing about the thicker finish is that a ding is less likely to make it down to the wood, and so is easier to drop fill repair.

I've noticed that the Epi's seem to have super thick finishes compared to the Gibsons.

 

[DreX]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

A lot of people talk about Epiphone in general terms, like "not quite as good as Gibson", but it's more case by case than that. There are random quality control issues with both Epiphones and Gibsons. The Gibsons are probably less likely to have issues, but it's a case by case thing. Gibsons comes with steel hardware rather than pot metal or whatever, and more costly electrical components, but nobody can prove either actually makes the guitar sound better. Apparently a pot metal tune-o-matic will buckle under the pressure of the strings over the course of ten to twenty years, but lots of other things will also wear out in that same time frame, even on a Gibson. The pickups are hit or miss, sometimes they sound great, sometimes they sound too dark, but I consider them to the place holders anyway

The Gibsons have a more attractive, less plasticy looking finish and a nice, real wood cap on the Les Pauls, as opposed to a veneer. The Epi's also tend to have a wavy finish, like you hold it up to the light, it's looks like a fun house mirror. That's typical of guitars in the price range that feature curved tops.

I have seven Epiphones, no Gibsons, and the only quality control issue I've seen with the Epi's is in the finish work. A couple had visible sanding marks, which is something that can be fixed at home easily enough. The poly seems rather thick, much thicker than MIM Fender finish at the same price point. The binding ends around where there the neck meets the body tends to not be luthier-level attention to detail, but I don't expect that at the price point.

I think I'd be more willing to buy a Gibson if I loved them more. Numerous aspects of their design seem antiquated compared to most other makes available, while at the same time I appreciate that they're true to an older era and achieve am aesthetic and a tone you don't get from more modern designs.

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

I have played an epiphone joe perry boneyard les Paul for nearly 10 years. I replaced the tuners and put in a set of pearly gates. Overall it's been a solid guitar that I am happy to play live. This year I bought my first Gibson les Paul. I tried out a bunch in the store and was able to pick a good one. The biggest difference is when playing the Gibson you get a resonant alive feeling that you feel against your body when playing, the epiphone not so much. But both sound great amplified though overall I prefer the tone and quality of construction of the Gibson - no upgrades needed, however it did cost over twice as much as the Epiphone.

Overall the epiphone I would be happy to play anywhere and would not be anxious taking anywhere.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Your opinion on Epiphone guitars

Epis are made with a local wood, maybe Sen Ash or similar with a veneer. Tonally it is similar, but a bit like generic basswood - balanced tone but more bland than Mahogany.

Often you might get a bit or bits that combine and work well together.......but unfortunately I got all ones that were just average. If you are looking for dynamics and use amps with a naturally lush or dynamic tone then even a pickup swap fails to get you close with those examples.